Bank of Canada Announces a Reduction to the Minimum Amount of Government of Canada Nominal Bonds it Acquires at Auction

The Bank of Canada announced today that it is decreasing its minimum purchase amount of nominal bonds at auctions to 14 per cent from the current 15 per cent level, effective immediately.

In managing its balance sheet, the Bank of Canada acquires Government of Canada securities to offset its liabilities, which consist mainly of bank notes in circulation and deposits. The Bank acquires these securities on a non-competitive basis at auctions and structures its holdings to broadly reflect the composition of the federal government’s stock of nominal domestic marketable debt.  As outlined in the Bank of Canada’s policy governing the acquisition and management of financial assets for its balance sheet, the Bank typically acquires a fixed percentage of the amount of nominal bonds being auctioned, with the amount of treasury bills purchased reflecting the Bank of Canada’s balance sheet needs at the time of each auction.

This change is for balance-sheet purposes only and has no implications for monetary policy.

The Bank will continue to indicate its intentions for minimum purchases on the Call for Tenders for each offering of nominal bonds. The Bank’s holdings of maturing nominal bonds, if any, will also be published.

For further information, please contact:

Assistant Director
Financial Markets Department
613 782-8046

Media:

Bank of Canada
613 782-8782